Justice News

A federal grand jury in Macon, Ga., returned an indictment charging Kimberly Michelle Banks, a resident of Cordele, Ga., with crimes involving the use of stolen identities on false federal income tax returns in order to obtain refunds to which Banks was not entitled.

According to the six-count indictment, which charges her with aggravated identity theft and wire fraud, Banks illegally obtained stolen identity information and used this information to prepare false tax returns claiming refunds. She then electronically submitted these returns to the Internal Revenue Service and had the refunds deposited onto prepaid debit cards.

An indictment is merely a formal charge by the grand jury. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a U.S. District Court.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Alexander R. Effendi and Justin K. Gelfand of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Michael Solis of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia. The case was investigated with the assistance of the IRS.

More information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/tax